Portable waste glass bottle and container crushing device

ABSTRACT

A portable, power driven waste glass bottle and container crushing device that may be removably mounted on a drum having an upper open end to permit the drum to be filled with crushed glass when the drum is disposed on the flat bed of a truck and thereafter transported to a desired destination. The crushing device permits one man to fill a drum, barrel or other container with crushed glass without the necessity of thereafter moving the filled drum, barrel or container which is of substantial weight to a transporting vehicle. The device if desired may be removably mounted on a roller supported frame to fill boxes or other containers with crushed glass when they are supported on a floor or ground surface.

United States Patent Spivey PORTABLE WASTE GLASS BOTTLE AND CONTAINERCRUSHING DEVICE [76] Inventor: Jene D. Spivey, 7041 Aivlis St.,

Long Beach, Calif. 90815 [22] Filed: Oct. 10,1973

[21] Appl. No.: 405,030

[52] US. Cl 241/100; 241/99 [51] Int. Cl. B02c 19/12 [58] Field ofSearch 241/99, 186 R, 188 R, 100, 241/884 [56] References Cited UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 2,001,075 5/1935 Sunstrand 241/884 2,820,595 1/1958Schumacher 241/99 3,151,814 10/1969 Morgan et a1. 241/186 R X 3,489,3541/1970 Harper et a1 241/99 X 3,655,138 4/1972 Guscombe 241/99 1 1 June17, 1975 Primary Examiner-Roy Lake Assistant Examiner-E. F. DesmondAttorney, Agent, or Firm-William C. Babcock [57] ABSTRACT A portable,power driven waste glass bottle and container crushing device that maybe removably mounted on a drum having an upper open end to permit thedrum to be filled with crushed glass when the drum is disposed on theflat bed of a truck and there after transported to a desireddestinationv The crushing device permits one man to fill a drum, barrelor other container with crushed glass without the necessity ofthereafter moving the filled drum, barrel or container which is ofsubstantial weight to a transporting vehicle. The device if desired maybe removably mounted on a roller supported frame to fill boxes or othercontainers with crushed glass when they are supported on a floor orground surface.

1 Claim, 5 Drawing Figures IH 24 /2a I PORTABLE WASTE GLASS BOTTLE ANDCONTAINER CRUSIIING DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of theInvention Portable Waste Glass Bottle and Container Crushing Device.

2. Description of the Prior Art In the past, various types of poweroperated devices have been devised and used for crushing of waste glasscontainers or bottles, but such devices have the operationaldisadvantage that the glass containers or bottles after being crushedare normally disposed in a drum or barrel that must subsequently bemoved to a transporting vehicle. A drum or barrel when filled withcrushed glass is of substantial weight and requires more than one man tomove it to a position on a truck.

Also, previously available devices for crushing glass containers orbottles are heavy, bulky, and occupy valuable space when not in use.

The primary purpose in devising the present invention is to supply aportable lightweight glass crushing device that may be removably mountedon a drum having an open upper end. The drum, prior to being filled withcrushed glass is mounted on a flat bed of a truck or other vehiclecapable of moving the barrel or container or drum when filled withcrushed glass to a desired destination.

Due to the portable nature of an empty drum or barrel, the drum orbarrel may be mounted on the flat bed ofa truck by a single person, andthe present invention used to fill the same with crushed glass, withoutthe necessity of the barrel or drum being moved after it is so filled.

If desired, the present invention may be removably mounted on a rollersupported frame, and crushed glass as it falls from the presentinvention being directed downwardly through a funnel also supported fromthe frame into a box or container that rests on the floor or ground thatsupports the frame.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A portable lightweight power driven glassbottle or container crushing device that includes a rigid cylindricalvertically disposed shell that has upper and lower ends, with the lowerend portion of the shell being open and of such transverse cross sectionas to be slidably insertable into the upper open end of a drum orbarrel. A flange extends outwardly from the shell adjacent the loweropen end thereof, with the flange due to engaging the upper edge of thedrum or barrel serving as a stop.

The flange and the lower portion of the shell when inserted into theupper portion of the drum or barrel cooperates to provide a removablemounting to maintain the shell in a vertical position on the drum duringthe crushing of glass bottles or containers. A number of parallellaterally spaced first bars span the lower interior of the drum and arerigidly secured to the latter. A diametrically extending shaft isrotatably supported by bearings in a normally disposed position relativeto the first bars. The shaft has a number of second bars rigidly securedin transversely spaced relationship thereon, with the second bars beingso arranged that they may pass through the opening between the firstbars when the shaft is driven. An internal combustion engine or otherpower means is preferably supported from the flange and the enginedriving a pulley that is drivingly connected by an endless belt to agrooved driven wheel secured to a projecting end of the shaft. The shellhas a number of angularly disposed vertically spaced baflies supportedin the upper interior portion thereof. The baffles preferably overlapone another and prevent pieces of broken glass from being thrownupwardly out of the shell when bottles or containers are being crushed.The baffles provide a safeguard that a person crushing glass bottles orcontainers will not be injured due to being contacted by broken piecesof glass. Bottles or containers as they are fed into the upper end ofthe device fall downwardly by gravity, with the bottles or containersinitially contacting the baffles, as they continue to fall. being brokenby contact with the rotating second bars. The broken glass dropsdownwardly by gravity through the spaces between the first base into thedrum or barrel on which the device is mounted.

Should it be desired, a roller supported frame may be provided on whichthe device is mounted in much the same manner as previously described inconnection with the barrel or drum. The frame includes a downwardlyextending funnel into which the crushed glass is directed and the funnelin turn directing the crushed glass into a box or other container ofrelatively low height that rests on the ground or floor surface thatsupports the frame. The present invention is portable and operatesequally satisfactorily whether supported on a drum or barrel, or on theframe above described.

The present invention permits barrels or drums to be moved in an emptycondition onto the flat bed of a truck or other supporting vehicle by asingle man, and the same man thereafter moving the present invention toa glass bottle and container crushing position on the barrel or drum.Glass bottles or containers are sequentially fed through the inventionuntil the barrel or drum is completely filled, with the inventionthereafter being moved to another empty drum. Thus, a single man mayutilize the device to fill barrels or drums on a supporting vehicle withcrushed glass, but without being required to move the barrels or drumsafter they are so filled.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view ofthe portable waste glass bottle and container crushing device removablysupported on the top of a drum;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary vertical cross sectional view of the devicetaken on the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a transverse cross sectional view of the de vice taken on theline 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross sectional view of the upper portion of thebottle crusher taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the bottle crushing deviceremovably mounted on the top of a roller supported frame that has afunnel extending downwardly therefrom to direct crushed glass into a boxor container situated under the funnel.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The portable, power driven glassbottle or container crushing device A is shown in FIG. 1 removablymounted on the upper end of a drum B that is preferably mounted on aflat bed C of a conventional truck which when the drum B is filled withcrushed glass transports the drum to a desired destination. After thedrum B has been filled with crushed glass. the device A is moved toanother empty drum and the above described operation is again repeated.

The glass bottle and glass container crushing device A as can be bestseen in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 includes a cy lindrical shell that has acircular flange 12 secured thereto, and the portion of the shell belowthe flange 12 being identified by the numeral 100 in HQ. 2. The shellportion 10a is of such transverse cross section as to be slidablyinsertable through the open end 14 of drum B. The flange 12 serves as astop to hold the shell 10 in a vertical position on the drum B by theflange 12 engaging the upper edge extremity of the drum that defines theopening 14 as shown in FIG. 2. The flange 12 as can be seen in FlG. 1includes an outwardly projecting extension 1241 that serves as a supportfor an internal combustion engine D or other power means.

The flange 12 as shown in FIG. 2 supports two diametrically opposedbearing blocks 16 that rotatably support a shaft 18. An end portion 18aof shaft 18 projects outwardly from one of the bearing blocks 16. Theend portion 18a has a grooved driven wheel 20 rigidly secured thereto,which wheel is engaged by a resilient endless belt 22 that extends to adriving pulley 24 that is rotated by the engine D. The interior of theshell 10 adjacent the bearing blocks 16 has a number of parallel,laterally spaced, first bars 26 secured to the interior thereof, and thebars being normally disposed to the shaft 18. The bars 26 define spaces28 therebetween. The shaft 18 has a sleeve 30 rigidly secured thereto bypins 32 or other suitable fastening means. The sleeve 30 has a number ofparallel, laterally spaced, second bars 34 extending outwardlytherefrom. When the shaft 18 is driven, the second bars are rotated andsequentially move through the spaces 28.

The shell 10 has an upper open end 38 as shown in FIG. 4 that is at alltimes partially closed by a cover 40, and the cover 40 by hinges 42supporting a second cover 44 that may be disposed in the position shownin H0. 4 to permit a bottle or glass container 46 as shown in phantomline in FIG. 4 to enter shell 10 and drop downwardly by gravity into theconfined space 48 within the shell. The glass container or bottlethereafter first strikes a downwardly projecting safety baffle 50 andthen falling by gravity from the baffle 50 onto an oppositely disposedsecond safety baffle 52. The bottles or containers 46 thereafter rollfrom the second baffle 52 by gravity to be contacted by the rotatingsecond bars 34. The rotating second bars 34 cooperate with the firstbars 26 to crush a glass bottle or container 46 when the wheel 20 isdriven, and the crushed glass (not shown) falling downwardly from theshell 10 into the drum B. The operation is continued until the drum B isfilled with crushed glass. The device A is then moved to an empty drum Band the above described operation is repeated.

In some instances, it may be desired to fill a low box or othercontainer with crushed glass, such as the container 8 shown in phantomline in FIG. 5. To facilitate the filling of the container B withcrushed glass, a rigid frame E is provided that is of circulartransverse cross section, and includes a number of circumferentiallyspaced, vertically positioned legs 54 that have rollers or casters 56secured to their lower ends thereof. The legs 54 have the upper endsthereof secured to a circular rib 58. A reinforcing ring 60 is alsosecured to legs 54 as shown in FIG. 5. The shell 10 is supported fromthe frame E in the same manner as previously described in connectionwith the drum B. The flange 12 serves as a stop by engaging the upperedge of the rib 58. Flange 12 holds the device at a desired elevationabove the ground or supporting surface F.

A funnel G is secured to the lower end of the shell 10 by conventionalmeans, and the funnel having a restricted lower open end 62 throughwhich the crushed glass (not shown) is directed into the box orcontainer B.

The glass bottle or container crushing device A as can be seen in FIGS.1 to 5 inclusive is portable, and may be selectively positioned oneither a drum or barrel B or frame B. Irrespective of the support usedwith the glass bottle or container crushing device A, it will beapparent that a single individual may use the device to crush glassbottles or containers 46, and with the crushed glass then dropping bygravity into either a drum B or box B. The device A above described issimple and easy to use, and permits a single individual to fill an emptydrum or barrel with crushed glass after the drum or barrel is disposedon the flat bed of a truck.

The shell 10 is illustrated in FIG. 4 as being of two piececonstruction, but this is merely a matter of convenience in fabrication.A one piece shell 10 may be used if desired.

The use and operation and structure of the present invention has beenexplained previously in detail and need not be repeated.

1 claim:

1. A portable power driven glass container crushing device that may beremovably mounted on a drum having an upper open end to fill said drumwith crushed glass containers when said device is resting on the flatbed of a conventional truck or trailer or on the ground, said crushingdevice including:

a. a rigid, cylindrical vertically disposed shell that has upper andlower open ends, with said shell having a lower end portion of suchtransverse cross section as to be removably insertable through said openend of said drum and extend downwardly therein;

b. a circumferentially extending circular flange that projects outwardlyfrom said shell adjacent said lower open end thereof, said flange actingas a stop by engaging an upper edge of said drum to support said shelltherefrom, with said lower end portion of said shell extendingdownwardly into said drum;

c. a plurality of rigid, parallel, laterally spaced first bars thatextend transversely across the interior of said drum and intermediatelydisposed between said upper and lower ends thereof;

d. diametrically opposed bearing means supported in fixed positions onsaid flange relative to said drum;

e. a shaft rotatably supported in said bearing means, said shaft havinga first end portion that projects outwardly from said bearing means andsaid shaft adjacently disposed to said first bars,

f. an internal combustion engine assembly supported on said flange, saidengine assembly including a drive shaft and a driving pulley secured tosaid shaft;

g. an endless belt;

h. a driven pulley rigidly secured to said first end of said shaft anddrivingly engaged by said belt;

i. a plurality of second parallel transversely spaced bars that arerigidly secured to said shaft intermediate the ends of said bars, saidsecond bars being rotatable through spaces defined between said firstbars and said second bars of such length as to project upwardly asubstantial distance above said first bars when said second bars aresubstantially normal to said first bars; and

'. a plurality of vertically spaced baffles in the upper interior ofsaid shell that angle downwardly and overlap, with a glass containerwhen deposited in the upper open end of said shell dropping down drum.

1. A portable power driven glass container crushing device that may beremovably mounted on a drum having an upper open end to fill said drumwith crushed glass containers when said device is resting on the flatbed of a conventional truck or trailer or on the ground, said crushingdevice including: a. a rigid, cylindrical vertically disposed shell thathas upper and lower open ends, with said shell having a lower endportion of such transverse cross section as to be removably insertablethrough said open end of said drum and extend downwardly therein; b. acircumferentially extending circular flange that projects outwardly fromsaid shell adjacent said lower open end thereof, said flange acting as astop by engaging an upper edge of said drum to support said shelltherefrom, with said lower end portion of said shell extendingdownwardly into said drum; c. a plurality of rigid, parallel, laterallyspaced first bars that extend transversely across the interior of saiddrum and intermediately disposed between said upper and lower endsthereof; d. diametrically opposed bearing means supported in fixedpositions on said flange relative to said drum; e. a shaft rotatablysupported in said bearing means, said shaft having a first end portionthat projects outwardly from said bearing means and said shaftadjacently disposed to said first bars; f. an internal combustion engineassembly supported on said flange, said engine assembly including adrive shaft and a driving pulley secured to said shaft; g. an endlessbelt; h. a driven pulley rigidly secured to said first end of said shaftand drivingly engaged by said belt; i. a plurality of second paralleltransversely spaced bars that are rigidly secured to said shaftintermediate the ends of said bars, said second bars being rotatablethrough spaces defined between said first bars, and said second bars ofsuch length as to project upwardly a substantial distance above saidfirst bars when said second bars are substantially normal to said firstbars; and j. a plurality of vertically spaced baffles in the upperinterior of said shell that angle downwardly and overlap, with a glasscontainer when deposited in the upper open end of said shell droppingdownwardly therein by gravity through spaces defined between saidbaffles to a position adjacent said first bars where said container issequentially struck by said rotating second bars to be broken into aplurality of pieces sufficiently small as to fall downwardly throughsaid spaces between said first bars into said drum.